Skip 2 years. I'm 10. My mom got a boyfriend, and was really happy. I was happy because I had a friend named Harper. We played on the playground everyday together at school, and we would have playdates 24/7. When I turned 12, my mom wasnt as happy. She was getting abused by her boyfriend. I on the other hand, would see the whole thing, and try to stop it. When I did try to, he would hit me too. I would go into my room, and cry for hours. Sometimes my mom would join me. Thankfully a few months later, she broke up with him. But it wasnt easy because he would refuse to leave. If my mom tried to push him out, he would punch the life out of her. I would go to school with black eyes. My school and teachers thought my mom was beating me up. But for a bit, my mom would drop me off, and everyone knew the boyfriend did it. Me and Harper would cry in the bathroom everyday together. Harper always helped with times like these. "I'm so sorry you have to go through this. If I could choose, I would want me to get beaten up, and not you." I started to cry harder. After an hour of crying together in the bathroom stall, we washed our faces so nobody knew we were crying. "Amaya?" "Yeah" I said, trying to catch my breath from the crying. "We should get ice cream after school. My treat." I smiled as I wiped a tear from my face. "Thanks Harper. I love you." Harper smiled, and grabbed my hand. We walked out of the bathroom, ready to go into our class. After school, we got Ice cream, and laughed about the stupidest things.
